Device for transporting and/or storing piece goods

ABSTRACT

A device for transporting and/or storing piece goods, includes a foldable web ( 2 ), which is made of flexible material, e.g. woven material, and which is folded while forming at least one essentially U-shaped holding pouch ( 1 ), in which the piece good can be held, and including a suspending device ( 7 ), which is situated at the upper end of the pouch ( 1 ) and which has at least one supporting bar ( 6 ), which can be connected to the upper end of the pouch ( 1 ), extends away in a longitudinal direction (X) over the length of the pouch ( 1 ), and whose ends are mounted in retaining means fastened to a frame, wherein the at least one supporting bar ( 6 ) is provided with apparatus for displaceably guiding the holding pouch ( 1 ) in at least two different directions (X, Y), at least a portion of these means being provided at the ends of the supporting bar ( 6 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a device for transporting and/or storing piecegoods, comprising a foldable web, which is made of flexible material,e.g. woven material, and which is folded while forming at least oneessentially U-shaped holding pouch, in which the piece good can be held,and comprising a suspending device, which is situated at the upper endof the pouch and which has at least one supporting bar, which can beconnected to the upper end of the pouch, extends away in a longitudinaldirection over the length of the pouch, and whose ends are mounted inretaining means fastened to a frame.

A device of the aforementioned type is partially known per se. There arethus known, for example, U-shaped holding pouches in which piece goodsare transported, particularly piece goods of the same kind, which arerequired as finished parts or as components or semifinished parts forthe production and assembly of more complex objects. An example of theseare vehicle body parts in the automobile industry, which are stamped andshaped, for example, in a vehicle body parts factory at a distance fromthe vehicle assembly factory, and only then have to be transported tothe assembly location.

Many piece goods are susceptible to damage, and are thereforetransported by means of holding pouches of the type described above.This transportation can be effected in different ways and by means ofdifferent systems. Thus, in the case of certain piece goods that areproduced for further processing or assembly, the loading and unloadingoperations must be made as simple and rapid as possible. If possible, itshould not be necessary to pack each individual piece in its owncontainer and subsequently remove it again in a time-consuming manner,since this would render the production process, for example of anautomobile, substantially more expensive. The very expensive packagingmaterial may also contribute to this increased expense.

The piece goods transported in the holding pouches may vary greatly inform. Known transport devices are used in such a way that, in each case,a series of identical objects is held in the individual, successivelyarranged pouches, in a frame or container. This, of course, does notpreclude, for example, alternately differing objects from also beingarranged in the pouches.

As in the case of the prior art, the meaning of the term “frame” usedhere is to be understood in a wide sense. It includes all types of openand closed stands or frames, including closed boxes or cases, whichconsist only of side walls and a base and/or cover. In addition, theterm “flexible material” is also to be understood in a very wide sense,and comprises films as well as woven fabric, nets and individual stripsof film or woven material, or of cords, arranged in parallel next to oneanother. Known in the art is the practice of suspending such a flexiblematerial from two supporting bars, the material suspended from the twoadjacent bars sagging in the form of a loop, while forming the saidholding pouch. At the ends, the holding pouch according to the inventionmay be open or closed. The pouches may also be closable by means ofan—optionally elastic—band, so that the two opposing parts of a holdingpouch are held together at the ends. The flexible material, i.e. thefoldable web, may preferably extend between two adjacent supportingbars. Alternatively, however, the foldable web may also extend overthree supporting bars, so that a series of interconnected loops, or aplurality of holding pouches, is formed. The device according to theinvention can also be applied to two or three adjacently arranged,U-shaped holding pouches formed in this manner.

If a series of successively arranged holding pouches of the devicedescribed at the outset is arranged in a frame having holding means,such as rails, attached thereto, a plurality of frames can be loadedonto a lorry and these can then be transported to the production site.There, the frames have to be taken into the factory and unloadedsequentially, device by device, and supplied to the individualprocessing stations. In this case, it is simple if the unloadingdirection is only one single direction and, conversely, followingremoval of the respective piece good, the station for re-use also liesin a single position, so that the direction of removal is also only onesingle direction. Owing to the complexity of assembly work, however, itis frequently the case that the transport devices, with the holdingpouches, have to be sequentially transported, moved or displaced indifferent directions. This is not possible with the existing transportdevices comprising holding pouches.

There have already been created transport devices having woven-fabricwebs, in which a relatively large number of U-shaped holding pouches arecreated by adjacent loop-type folds. Although it is then possible for aplurality of transport devices to be simultaneously loaded with holdingpouches, stored and transported, i.e. to be conveyed in a frame and alsoremoved again from the latter, loading of such a frame with holdingpouches from different directions, and also their removal to differentdirections, is again precluded. This interferes with the flexibility ofthe transport systems, and therefore also, ultimately, of theinterconnection of the various processing stations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the object of the present invention to create a device,of the type stated at the outset, by means of which the holding pouchcan be more easily moved and stored by the user of the device.

The device of the invention for transporting and/or storing piece goods,includes a foldable web (2), which is made of flexible material, e.g.woven material, and which is folded while forming at least oneessentially U-shaped holding pouch (1), in which the piece good can beheld, and including a suspending device (7), which is situated at theupper end of the pouch (1) and which has at least one supporting bar(6), which can be connected to the upper end of the pouch (1), extendsaway in a longitudinal direction (X) over the length of the pouch (1),and whose ends are mounted in retaining means fastened to a frame,wherein the at least one supporting bar (6) is provided with apparatusfor displaceably guiding the holding pouch (1) in at least two differentdirections (X, Y), at least a portion of these means being provided atthe ends of the supporting bar (6).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a perspective view of a transport device according to theinvention, with a holding pouch having, arranged at the top, asuspending device of a preferred first version,

FIG. 2 in reduced scale, a side view of the transport device of FIG. 1,as viewed in the transverse direction,

FIG. 3 again in a perspective view, a representation similar to that ofFIG. 1, but of a different version, in which only rollers, and no slidehooks, are provided,

FIG. 4 a reduced side view, similar to FIG. 2, in which, however, theslide hooks according to the version according to FIG. 3 have beenreplaced by transverse rollers,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to those of FIGS. 1 and 3, but of asubstantially simplified version having only one supporting bar,

FIG. 6 is again a side view similar to FIGS. 2 and 4, but in this caseboth according to the version of FIG. 5 and having opposing rails asretaining means, and having an enlargement at only one end of thesupporting bar,

FIG. 7 is another version of the transport device, wherein there isprovided only one supporting bar, over which there extends a box rail,in which there runs, as an enlargement, a ball which is attached, at thetop, to the centre of the supporting bar,

FIG. 8 is a side view, as viewed, for example, from left to right inFIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is a likewise reduced side view similar to FIG. 7, wherein,however, instead of the one ball, two balls arranged at a distance fromone another are attached, at the top, to the supporting bar, and run inthe box rail,

FIG. 10 is a representation similar to that of FIG. 6, whereinenlargements are shown provided on both ends of the single supportingbar, and only one ball is mounted in the centre, and

FIG. 11 is a further version of the invention, which is intended tofacilitate the gripping and carrying of a pouch by hand for the purposeof transferring it from one rail system into another.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This object of the invention is achieved in that the at least onesupporting bar is provided with means for displaceably guiding theholding pouch in at least two different directions, at least a portionof these means being provided at the ends of the supporting bar. If oneconsiders a first, namely, the simplest, version of the transport deviceaccording to the invention, the holding pouch is created by loop-typefolding around only one single supporting bar, a retaining loop beingformed, in turn, in the upper region of the holding pouch, by alongitudinal seam, and the one supporting bar being insertedlongitudinally through this retaining loop. Adjoining beneath it is theactual holding pouch, which can be loaded from the end. The simplestversion is a supporting bar, which is circular in cross-section andwhich is cut off at its ends to such a length that each end rests on arail as a retaining means. The holding pouch can thereby be moved in onedirection. Preferably, at least one enlargement is then additionallyprovided as a retaining means, at the top of the supporting bar, fordisplaceably guiding the holding pouch. The holding pouch can thereby bedisplaced in any direction.

Another version of the invention is characterized in that means areprovided, at the ends of the at least one supporting bar, fordisplaceably guiding the holding pouch in at least two differentdirections. In this case it is particularly advantageous if, accordingto the invention, the suspending device has at least two supportingbars. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, and also in FIGS. 3 and 4, theends of the supporting bars 6 are either realized as slide hooks 8 orthey are provided with transverse rollers 9, while the longitudinalrollers 11 are mounted on the supporting bars, at a certain distancefrom the ends of the latter.

The user of the device comprising the holding pouch is able to move ordisplace the latter not merely in one direction, but also in a second orpossibly third direction. This means a more convenient manipulation ofthe holding pouch which, in both the loading and unloading of trackscoming from various directions, can move into downstream or receivingtracks running in a different direction in relation either to the formerand/or to itself. In this case, it is of no consequence whether thesetracks are rectilinear or curved. What is of importance is that, at thetransfer point, a simple holding pouch having a simple suspending devicecan be easily transferred from a guide or track system. The deviceaccording to the invention is preferably to be used in a sequentialsystem in which holding pouches are removed successively from one systemand forwarded to another. The “easier” movement can also be understood,inter alia, in respect of the weight. Owing to its simple suspendingdevice, the new transport device can be produced with lightweightmaterials, so that the total weight may be easily manipulated by theoperator.

For reasons of weight, it is preferable to provide the transport deviceaccording to the invention with only one U-shaped holding pouch, inorder to keep the overall device light and of small in volume. In thiscase, the holding pouch formed from the foldable web of flexiblematerial is suspended by means of respectively one small retaining loop,through which the supporting bars are inserted longitudinally. In thecase of another version, two U-shaped holding pouches could also bearranged adjacently and, through a third supporting bar arranged inparallel and between them, constitute two holding pouches, in the formof two U-shaped loops closed at the bottom, the web being laid in theform of a loop over the middle supporting bar, and thereby beingretained by the latter. It is also expedient in this case for thefoldable web to be produced from very flexible material, so that the enduser can properly store the transport device, and move and manipulate iteasily and conveniently. It is understood that the U-shaped pouches neednot consist of only a single web but, in particular, may also becomposed of a plurality of flexible elements such as, for example, twovertical webs, which are joined at the lower end by a third, transverseweb, which is sewn, adhesive-bonded or welded-on. Furthermore, areinforcing layer may be inserted in the lower region of the pouches, orthe base of the pouches may be double-walled, so that a reinforcinglayer, e.g. a semi-rigid plastic element, may be inserted, which holdsthe two vertical suspended side walls of the pouches at a certaindistance from one another.

In the case of a preferred version, provision is made, according to theinvention, whereby the two displacement directions of the holdingpouches are perpendicular to one another. It may well be envisaged that,at the transfer node, an incoming straight track is constituted by, forexample, two rails or two bars, running parallel to and at a distancefrom one another while, on the discharge side, a track constituted bytwo rails or bars likewise runs off at a distance from andperpendicularly to the first. If one assumes a horizontal planeperpendicular to the vertical, it may then be envisaged that the tworails or bars of the respective track likewise span a plane. This planeneed not lie exactly in the horizontal, but this is preferred. Theintake side of the track is in this case preferably parallel to thedischarge plane of the other track. This is not precluded by the factthat the two tracks are perpendicular to one another.

Furthermore, according to the invention, in the case of another versionthe distance between the two supporting bars is fixed, and determined bya respective transverse bar arranged in the region of the bar end. Theopening of the holding pouch is thereby defined from the top. Thetransverse bar constitutes part of the suspending device which, like aframe, holds the foldable web open at the top, in the form of a pouch.The transverse bar, however, could also be designed to be telescopicallyadjustable and then lockable, so that the distance between the two barsis fixed, but can be varied prior to locking. Moreover, it is understoodin this case that the holding pouch is at least partially closed at thelongitudinal ends (front and back).

The invention is further advantageously designed in that the means fordisplaceably guiding the holding pouch in a direction have downwardlyopen slide hooks provided at the end regions of the supporting bars. Ithas already been mentioned above that the rails are constituted by twointake-side bars or discharge-side bars (or, in the case of anotherversion, rails), which run at a distance from one another. Downwardlyopen slide hooks are able to slide displaceably on these bars, as in thecase of file folders in a suspension filing cabinet. The operator thenonly has to displace the holding pouch by the desired distance on thebar. This displaceable guiding in the one direction can be described asthe Y direction, a direction which runs perpendicularly to thelongitudinal extent of the supporting bars.

Since, according to the basic concept of the invention, the holdingpouch is provided in two different directions, preferably straightdirections, a further version is characterized in that the means fordisplaceably guiding the holding pouch in a direction, in this case theX direction, have downwardly open slide hooks provided at the endregions of the transverse bars. The one intake-side rail may beconstituted by, for example, two parallel bars, and the other,discharge-side rail, then also constituted, in the case of this version,by two bars. The holding pouch can be placed directly onto thedischarge-side system from the intake-side system, without the need toturn the holding pouch by the angular amount by which the rails ordisplacement directions are angled. In the case of these versions, theholding pouch has been moved via bars and, following transfer, it islikewise again moved by displacement on other bars. The downwardly openslide hooks are expedient for this purpose. For the Y direction, theslide hooks are mounted at the ends of the supporting bars, and for theX direction the slide hooks are mounted at the ends of the transversebars.

Also conceivable, however, is another version which, according to theinvention, is characterized in that the means for displaceably guidingthe holding pouch in a direction, which may be better envisaged as the Xdirection, have longitudinal rollers rotatably arranged at the endregions of the transverse bars. A person skilled in the art can veryeasily realize this instruction of the invention, since the longitudinalrollers rotate about axial pins which can be embedded in the transversebars. Thus, in the case of this version, for example, movement can beeffected in the Y direction by means of slide hooks, and a rollingdisplacement can be effected in the X direction by means of longitudinalrollers.

It is also advantageous according to the invention if, in the case ofanother version, the means for displaceably guiding the holding pouch ina direction, which may be more easily envisaged here as the Y direction,have transverse rollers rotatably arranged at the end regions of thesupporting bars. The transverse rollers permit the roller-typedisplacement of the holding pouch in the transverse direction, i.e.preferably perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction, which is alsothe longitudinal extent of the supporting bars. For this reason, thetransverse rollers at the ends of the respective supporting bars providefor displaceable guidance in the Y direction.

It is of course also possible, according to the invention, for the meansfor displaceably guiding the holding pouch in both directions, which maybe better envisaged here by considering both the X and the Y direction,to have downwardly open slide hooks. In this case, there is thepossibility, already indicated above, of displacing the holding pouch inboth directions X, Y on bars by means of the slide hooks. Analogously,it is furthermore possible, according to the invention, for the meansfor displaceably guiding the holding pouch in both directions X, Y to berollers rotatably arranged on the supporting bars and on the transversebars. According to the invention, the transport device can be displacedin two different directions at different times. Depending on the versiondescribed above, the suspending device may have four rollers and fourslide hooks, or eight rollers and eight slide hooks.

Instead of rollers, the bars, for example the supporting bars and/or thetransverse bars, may each have an enlarged end or a constriction at ashort distance from their end, thereby realizing means equivalent to therollers.

From the preceding description, it should also be evident, in respect ofthe holding pouches, that the supporting bars support the web materialin such a way that the latter forms loops, as holding pouches for thepiece goods, between the supporting bars. The supporting bars of thesuspending device are retained and preferably displaceably guided byretaining means which are attached to a frame. These are theaforementioned rails or bars, which are mounted on the frame. The term“frame” in this case is to be understood in a very wide sense, andcomprises all types of open or closed stands, which may also have sidewalls and/or a base and/or a cover, and thus constitute closedcontainers, or also open frames only. Such frames may be provided inproduction sites, on lorries or at other locations.

Furthermore, it is advantageous, according to the invention if the endsof the supporting bar are supported on or in a rail as a retainingmeans. In this case, the ends of the supporting bar do not need to be ofa special design, or provided with an enlargement or the like. Thesimplest version of the transport device according to the inventionprovides only for the insertion of the single supporting bar, with theholding pouch suspended therefrom, into two opposing rails. If thistransport device is removed from the rails, and if it is desired totransfer into another retaining means for displacement in anotherdirection, then use is made of the other displacement means, which aremounted at the top, in the manner already described, on the support bar,and which may have an enlargement, for example a ball, which likewisecan be introduced into a rail, this rail being able to run in adirection other than that of the first rail.

The invention is further advantageously designed in that the means fordisplaceably guiding the holding pouch in at least two differentdirections have slide hooks, rollers, enlargements or the like.

In another preferred version of the invention, at least one transversebar is mounted between two parallel supporting bars and at a distancefrom the free ends of these supporting bars, and connects the twosupporting bars. Two such transverse bars are expediently arranged at adistance from one another somewhere along the two parallel supportingbars, i.e. they do not necessarily have to be in the end region of thesupporting bars, but may also be arranged in a region which is alsoencompassed by the U-shaped pouch, while the ends of the supporting barsproject out beyond the ends of the U-shaped pouch.

Furthermore, there is preferably provided a hinge element which isrealized to be rotatably mobile about the transverse bar, as a hingeaxle. The hinge element furthermore preferably has a further eyelet,through which there extends an axle on which there are mounted means fordisplacing the supporting bars in the longitudinal direction of same.These means, expediently, are longitudinal rollers. The hinge elementsmay be either flexible hinge elements consisting, for example, ofband-type or strip-type elements, but they may also be rigid elements.In the preferred version, respectively two hinge elements are mounted ata distance from one another on a supporting bar, and encompass thetransverse bar with a respective hinge eyelet, and they additionallyhave a further eyelet for encompassing the axle of two longitudinalrollers.

The hinge elements may also have a further, additional, eyelet, throughwhich there extends a handle. In this case, the positions of the axlefor the longitudinal rollers and of the handle may optionally beinterchanged, i.e., the eyelets provided in addition to the hinge eyeletfor the transverse bar may optionally be used either for the axle of thelongitudinal rollers or for a handle.

The holding pouch, denoted in general by 1, is formed by a U-shapedfolding of the web 2, which is made from a flexible woven material. Atthe upper ends, the web is likewise folded over, to form small retainingloops 3, and sewn along the seam 4 to form these retaining loops 3. Theseam 4 extends in the longitudinal direction of the holding pouch 1,this being the X direction in this case. The end edges of the web 2constitute the ends of the holding pouch 1, and are closed by U-shapedinserts 5 in such a way that the web 2, folded as described, constitutesan open holding pouch 1.

Two supporting bars 6, arranged in parallel to one another, of a pair ofsupporting bars are inserted through the small retaining loops 3 whichextend in the longitudinal direction of the holding pouch 1. The lengthof the supporting bars 6 is somewhat greater than the length of theholding pouch 1. These supporting bars 6 constitute part of thesuspending device, denoted in general by 1, which is situated at theupper end of the pouch 1 and carries the pouch. Each supporting bar 6 isconnected to the upper end of the pouch 1 in the manner described above(inserted through the retaining loop).

In the case of the version of FIGS. 1 and 2, the front and rear ends ofthe support bars 6 extending in the X direction (longitudinal directionof the carrying pouch 1) are provided with slide hooks 8, which aredownwardly open. These are the means for displaceably guiding theholding pouch 1 in the transverse direction, i.e. in the direction Y.

In the case of the other version according to FIGS. 3 and 4, the means 9for displaceably guiding the holding pouch 1 in this one direction Y aretransverse rollers 9, which are rotatably arranged at the end regions ofthe supporting bars 6. The axes of rotation of these transverse rollers9 run in the longitudinal direction of the supporting bars 6, or in theX direction.

The suspending device 7 also includes the transverse bars 10, which arearranged in the end regions of the supporting bars 6 and which arealigned perpendicularly to the longitudinal extent X of the supportingbars 6. Longitudinal rollers 11 are rotatably arranged at the endregions of these transverse bars 10. These rollers are calledlongitudinal rollers 11, because they permit a displacement of thetransport device, of all versions represented here in the drawings, inthe longitudinal direction of the holding pouch 1, i.e. in the directionX. The transverse bars 10 arranged in parallel to one another define afixed distance between the two supporting bars 6.

Consideration of FIGS. 1 and 2, on the one hand, and FIGS. 3 and 4, onthe other hand, clearly shows the difference between the two versions ofthe transport device respectively shown therein. In the case of thefirst version according to FIGS. 1 and 2, the displacement motion of theholding pouch 1 in the Y direction, i.e. in the so-called transversedirection in this case, is effected by means of bars, not shown, onwhich the downwardly open slide hooks 8 are suspended and over which thesuspending device 7 can be displaced by sliding. This transport deviceof the first version can be converted to a rail system and moved away byinsertion into, for example, C-shaped rails. The latter movement in thelongitudinal direction, i.e. in the so-called X direction, is effectedthrough the longitudinal rollers 11, whose axes of rotation end in thetransverse bars 10.

In the case of the second version, the longitudinal rollers 11 are againalso used for the displacement in the X direction; here, however, thetransverse rollers 9 are used for displacement in the transversedirection, the direction Y.

The new transport device according to the invention enables piece goodstransported in the holding pouches 1 to be successfully transferred, ina first rail direction, delivery direction (X), from a lorry into anintermediate frame or production-side further transport system andtransported away to the Y direction, for example a discharge direction,and vice versa.

Further, different versions of a transport device according to theinvention, which are of particularly simple design, are represented inFIGS. 5 to 10. The entire suspending device consists of only a singlesupporting bar 6 which, for reasons of simplicity, is represented as abar which has a circular cross-section and is cut off at its ends, asclearly evident in FIG. 5. If one looks again towards the Y direction,one sees the reduced representation of FIG. 6. Shown on the right sideof the figure is the cut-off supporting bar 6, which rests and is guidedonly on the rail 13, as a retaining means. Obviously, in the case ofeach version, the supporting bar 6 can be cut-off at both ends, as inthe representation according to FIG. 5. Alternatively, however, amushroom-shaped enlargement 14, for example, could be provided at one orboth ends of the supporting bar 6, in order to prevent the supportingbar 6, with the suspended holding pouch 1, from tipping and falling out.It can be seen that the at least one supporting bar 6 is designed to bedisplaceably guided at its ends or, alternatively, has special meansthat have already been described above, for example the mushroom-shapedenlargement 14.

Provided in the retaining loop 3 at the top of the holding pouch 1 is ahole 15, through which there projects a pin 16, on the top of whichthere is attached the ball 12 as an enlargement.

This ball 12 is provided as a single enlargement in the longitudinalcentre of the supporting bar 6. However, it is also possible to envisageanother version, according to FIG. 9, in which two balls 12 are providedat a distance from one another on the supporting bar 6, in order toprevent tipping of the holding pouch 1. The one ball 12 or, also, thetwo balls 12, in the case of the one or the other version, runs or run,respectively, in a box rail 17, which is represented only in FIGS. 7 to9, but whose function is simple and obvious.

As in the case of the version with the two supporting bars 6, alldisplacement advantages of the type described above are also obtainedfor the simplified version with only the one supporting bar.

FIG. 11 shows a further version of the invention, in which two parallelsupporting bars 6, between which there extends a U-shaped pouch, arejoined together by two transverse bars 10′. The transverse bar 10′, inturn, is encompassed by respectively two hinge elements 18 which areprovided at a distance from one another and which, in this case, arerealized as robust bands having loop-and-hoop closures, the bands beingrespectively placed in the form of an eyelet around the transfer bar 10′and, in turn, forming, at their free end, an eyelet through which thereis guided the axle 19 of two longitudinal rollers 11. The twolongitudinal rollers 11 extend somewhat over the supporting bars 6 orhave a somewhat greater distance from one another.

Provided at the ends of the supporting bars 6 are respectivemushroom-shaped enlargements 14 which, in this case, are essentiallyrealized as flat head-plates provided on the ends of the supporting bars6. As shown by a detailed representation at bottom right in FIG. 11,these head-plates lie on rails 13 which may be provided, for example, inthe form of an L-shaped or U-shaped profile, in order to prevent theenlargements 14 from slipping off the rails 13. As may easily beenvisaged, an entire series of the U-shaped pouches represented in FIG.11 may be arranged in succession on two rails 13 arranged in parallel toone another (the distance between which corresponds approximately to thelength of the supporting bars 6), and thus mounted in, for example, aframe or a container which can be transported on a lorry. For thepurpose of unloading, these pouches are then moved in succession to thefree end of the rails, a user being able to grip the pouches by theaxles 19, which serve as handles, and to suspend them in a further railpair which runs perpendicularly to the rails 13 and in parallel to thecarrying pouches 6 at a distance corresponding to the length of the axle19 of the longitudinal rollers 11, so that the longitudinal rollers 11are guided in parallel in these rails. These rails preferably have aJ-shaped or C-shaped cross-section, so that the longitudinal rollers 11are securely guided therein. In this way, one such unit after another ispushed into the rails for the longitudinal rollers 11, these rails alsobeing able to be inclined, so that the pouches move forwardautomatically. The mushroom-shaped enlargements 14 in this case also actas a buffer when a succeeding pouch strikes against a preceding pouch.

Various forms of the hinge elements 18, 18′, 20 and 21 are representedin the sub-figures a-d of FIG. 11. In the case of FIG. 11 a, the hingeelement 18 is, for example, a simple loop-and-hoop band or, also,another band having at its ends two eyelets which are passed around thesupporting bars 10 and the axle 19 respectively, and are sewn, asindicated in the figure. In the case of FIG. 11 b, one of the eyelets isalready solidly integrated into the band 18′, and the band 18′ also hasa greater wall thickness and is more rigid, being composed, for example,of a semi-rigid plastic material, similar in consistency to a leatherband.

FIG. 11 c shows a substantially rigid hinge element 20, having twoeyelets 22, 23, of which one eyelet 22 encompasses the transverse bar10′, while the other eyelet 23 encompasses the axle 19 of the twolongitudinal rollers 11.

FIG. 11 d, finally, shows a further rigid hinge element 21 which, likethe element 20, has two eyelets 22, 23, but which additionally has afurther eyelet 24 through which there may also extend a furthertransverse bar, which serves as a handle when a corresponding pouch isremoved from the rails 13 and inserted into the J-shaped or C-shapedrails for the rollers 11. The additional handles have the advantage thatthe hands of the user do not come into contact with the sometimessharp-edged ends of the rails, since the latter are situated relativelyclose to one another.

It is understood, however, that the eyelet 23 could also just as wellreceive the handle, while the axle 19 would extend, for example, throughthe eyelets 24.

LIST OF REFERENCES

-   1 Holding pouch-   2 Web of flexible material-   3 Retaining loops-   4 Seam-   5 U-shaped inserts-   6 Supporting bars-   7 Suspending device-   8 Slide hooks-   9 Transverse rollers-   10 Transverse bars-   11 Longitudinal rollers-   12 Ball as enlargement-   13 Rail as retaining means-   14 Enlargement-   15 Hole-   16 Pin-   17 Box rail

1-22. (canceled)
 23. A device for at least one of transporting andstoring piece goods, said device comprising a foldable web (2), which ismade of flexible material and which is folded while forming at least oneessentially U-shaped holding pouch (1), in which the piece good can beheld, and comprising a suspending device (7), which is situated at theupper end of the pouch (1) and which has at least one supporting bar(6), which can be connected to the upper end of the pouch (1), extendsaway in a longitudinal direction (X) over the length of the pouch (1),which supporting bar having ends mounted in retaining means fastened toa frame, wherein the at least one supporting bar (6) is provided withmeans for displaceably guiding the holding pouch (1) in at least twodifferent directions (X, Y), at least a portion of these means beingprovided at the ends of the supporting bar (6).
 24. A device accordingto claim 23, wherein in the region of the ends of the at least onesupporting bar (6), means (8; 9, 11; 12; 14) are provided fordisplaceably guiding the holding pouch (1) in at least two differentdirections.
 25. A device according to claim 23, wherein the suspendingdevice (7) has at least two supporting bars (6).
 26. A device accordingto claim 23, wherein the means for displacing the holding pouch (1) inat least two different directions is of such design that the holdingpouch (1) can be displaced in two displacement directions (X, Y) whichare perpendicular to each other.
 27. A device according to claim 25,wherein the distance between the two supporting bars (6) is fixed, anddetermined by a respective transverse bar (10) arranged in the region ofthe bar end.
 28. A device according to claim 23, wherein the means (8)for displaceably guiding the holding pouch (1) in a direction (Y) havedownwardly open slide hooks (8) mounted at the end regions of thesupporting bars (6).
 29. A device according to claim 24, wherein themeans (8) for displaceably guiding the holding pouch (1) in a direction(X) have downwardly open slide hooks (8) at the end regions of thesupporting bars (6).
 30. A device according to claim 24, wherein themeans (11) for displaceably guiding the holding pouch (1) in a direction(X) have longitudinal rollers (11) rotatably arranged at the end regionsof the transverse bars (10).
 31. A device according to claim 24, whereinthe means (9) for displaceably guiding the holding pouch (1) in adirection (Y) have transverse rollers (9) rotatably arranged at the endregions of the supporting bars (6).
 32. A device according to claim 24,wherein the means (8) for displaceably guiding the holding pouch (1) inboth directions (X, Y) have downwardly open slide hooks (8).
 33. Adevice according to claim 24, wherein the means (8, 11) for displaceablyguiding the holding pouch (1) in both directions (X, Y) have rollers (9,11) rotatably arranged on the supporting bars (6) and on the transversebars (10).
 34. A device according to claim 22, wherein the ends of thesupporting bar (6) are supported on or in a rail (13, 17), as aretaining means.
 35. A device according to claim 23, wherein the means(8; 9, 11; 12; 14) for displaceably guiding the holding pouch (1) in adirection has slide hooks (8), rollers (9, 11), or enlargements (12,14).
 36. A device according to claim 23, wherein there is provided ontop of the supporting bar (6) at least one enlargement (12) as means fordisplaceably guiding the holding pouch (1) in at least one direction (Xor Y).
 37. A device according to claim 24, wherein the two supportingbars (6) are connected to one another by at least one transverse bar(10′) arranged at a distance from the ends of the supporting bars.
 38. Adevice according to claim 37 wherein there is provided on the transversebar (10′) at least one hinge element (18, 18′, 20, 21), which extendstransversely away from the transverse bar (10′), and which is rotatablymobile about the transverse bar (10′) and has, in a region at a distancefrom the transverse bar (10′), at least one eyelet (23) for receiving anaxle on which are mounted means for displacing the holding pouch in thelongitudinal direction of the supporting bars (6).
 39. A deviceaccording to claim 38 wherein the means for moving the holding pouches(1) in the longitudinal direction are longitudinal rollers (11).
 40. Adevice according to claim 39 wherein at least one hinge element (18,18′) is composed of a flexible strip material.
 41. A device according toclaim 39 wherein the hinge element is composed of a semi-rigid or rigidmaterial.
 42. A device according to claim 38 wherein the hinge elementhas at least two eyelets (22, 23), of which one is provided forreceiving the transverse bar (10′) and another is provided for receivingthe axle (19).
 43. A device according to claim 42 wherein the hingeelement (21) has a third eyelet (24) which is at a distance from thetransverse bar (10′) and which is provided for receiving a handle.
 44. Adevice according to claim 38 wherein respectively two hinge elements(18, 18′, 20, 21), parallel to and at a distance from one another, areprovided on a transverse bar (10′).